Quote of the day

When Christian leaders go to government to call for sweeping structural
change, we have more integrity and power when we can say: "We are part of
Christian communities that are already beginning to live out what we are calling
you to legislate." Our call for costly changes in foreign policy toward the
Two-Thirds World designed to implement greater global economic justice has
integrity only if we are a part of Christian congregations that are already
beginning to incarnate a more simple lifestyle that points toward a more just,
ecologically sustainable planet. Our call for nuclear disarmament and
international peace has integrity only if there is growing peace and wholeness
in our families and churches.
- Ronald J. Sider

New dialy scripture and quotes from Sojo mail

"[God] has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" - Micah 6:8

“The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Prayer of St Patrick - Breastplate

Christ, as a light illumine and guide me.
Christ, as a shield overshadow me and cover me.
Christ, be under me; Christ, be over me.
Christ, be beside me on my left and my right.

Christ, this day be within and without me.
Christ, the lowly and meek.

Christ, the all-powerful, be in the heart of each to whom I speak.
In the mouth of each who speaks to me -
in all who draw near to me, or see me, or hear me.

Amen.

A Call to an Ancient Evangelical Future

A new article on ChristianityToday.com. An appeal to live the biblical narrative.

Need some motivation?

Asia's Young Entrepreneurs

Human trade - what can we do?

I was going to give this post a different name - "Hate / Passion / Compassion / Fear". Today I read an article at the Jakarta Post that details how Human Trafficing is a major issue in Indonesia. Human Trafficing is an issue that makes my blood boil. Hearing of the stories of some of the women, children (and boys) who are trafficed across the world for prostitution, sex slavery, and slave labor brings tears to my eyes.

I can honestly say that I hate people who profit from human trafficing. I hate those people who use the services of trafficed human beings. And I hate those who who exploit trafficed human beings. I hate them with a pure hatred. Do you know what these girls suffer? I have had to force myself through the testimony of the humanitarians who have worked to free these girls. These girls are lured from their kampungs (villiages) with promises of work in the city and moeny to send back to their poor struggling families. Rather, they are kidnapped, smuggled abroad and sold as sex slaves. Others are locked in dungeons and used in forced prostitution. They are constantly drugged to numb the pain. The average life span of a girl forced into this work is 14 years.

Here is an extract from the article...

Indonesia is a hub for trafficking. Young local women are often hired under the pretense of overseas employment as domestic workers, only to end up in forced prostitution in Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

High rates of poverty and unemployment, along with low levels of education, have been blamed for the ease with which people in Indonesia are exploited.

I have strong feelings for Indonesia. I love the Indonesian people, and I would like to help in some way. But what can I do? What can someone from a different culture do? I have a passion:
I want to start a school in Indonesia. I want to provide a safe place for the vulnerable Indonesians to come. A place where they can be accepted, protected, cherished, and grown. I want to be instrumental in making this happen. But what can I do? I have no money? I have no skills in teaching? No social services, limited cultural knowledge? What could I possible do? This is the fear.

Due to underlying religious hostility in Indonesia, it is hard to get humanitarian Visas, and once granted, you are monitored for proseltyzing. Indonesia is majority muslim. But the way that I see it, this is not a muslim issue - it is a human issue. We have an obligation to our neighbours, to protect them from exploitation. To protect and serve the vulnerable. If not a human issue, the disciples of Christ are without excuse - We are commanded to protect the vulnerable. We are commanded to serve them. The Prophets made this clear for us.

So what can I do? I don't know. Pray? Seek? Knock? God, please make a way. Lead me in Your will.

What do I want to say to these girls? You are never dirtied. Though the world exploits you, you will never lose your value in the eyes of God. And because of that, I will never view you as dirty. I will accept you as my own family and in someway, try to show the love of God for you. You are precious in Gods sight.

What do I want to say to the human trafficers, and all those who profit from, or exploit the services of human trafficers? Your days are numbered. God will rip the cover off all iniquity and your blackness will be exposed for all the world to see. Repent and pay restitution while there is still time for you to do so.

What do I want to say to every person who labels them selves as "Christs"? This is YOUR problem. It is not the missionaries, or the Indonesians. It is your problem. If you don't act, who will. Don't use the bullshit excuse that God has not called you to help. Poverty is your problem. Oppresion is your problem. The poor are your problem. Read the prophets. Read Christs words. You were told to prioritise two things. Love of God and love of others. If you are a follower of Christ, don't you believe that you are to follow Christ? What did Christ say?


and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday. (Isaiah 58:10)

learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow. (Isaiah 1:17)


The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed, (Luke 4:18)


I am preaching to myself here as much as anyone else. God help me to stop being selfish. Help me to live beyond myself. Help me to live by example. Help me to be a humble servant of Christ. Like Christ, not viewing myself more highly than I ought to, but to humble myself and be a servant of others. God, may Your kingdom come, and may Your will be done.

What world is real?

What world is real? The more I read the bible, the more it becomes obvious to me that there is two worlds. A physical world, and a spiritual world. It's not that I ever denied or doubted that, but sometimes, I become oblivious to that.

We're spending this month on the topic of prayer at church. One thing that I know is that Prayer is natural. It is something in every human being that always tries to cry out beyond ourselves. Even in communist regimes, where the government has tried to stamp our religion by force, they still cannot stamp out the internal yearning for more beyond ourself.

For instance, in communist Russia under Stalin, and communist China under Mao, the people were taught to "think" of their dear leaders when their work was difficult, or when they were dissuaded by the communist ideologies. In China, people were often forced to confess their sins to Mao in a prayerful form. They can try to wipe out religion, but they can never wipe out what is natural to every human - an internal desire for a spiritual Father. These regimes simply put man in the place of God.

I was encouraged tonight by a story of Elisha. It is found in 2 Kings 6:8-22. Here Elisha and his servant, surrounded by an enemy army. The servant was distressed but Elisha was calm. Elisha prays a simple prayer "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha". (2 Kings 6:17).

In the physical world, there was every reason to fear. But Elisha realised that the spiritual world was much more real. He could see into this spiritual world. What is stopping us from seeing into this spiritual world? I believe that we have become numbed and too attached to the natural (too much tv, too many sensory experiences, too much visual entertainment). It's time to examine ourselves and ask, what world is more real to us?

Artificial

Everyday we see their screams on the media screens
But we just sit here relaxed protected by our serenity scenes.

These scenes we build based on the marketing speel.
True happiness always seems so real.
But in our serenity scenes, we will never feel.

We've made a god of ourself.
We bow to its every word through deed and mis-deed.
Striving to satisfy.
Planting descrated seed. These seeds only grow into desecrated trees.
No healthy fruit. No green leaves.
It doesn't matter though. We can make it artificially good anyway.
Where there's a will, there's a way.

After all, we make our own way.
We build our own empires, get fat, but all the while, we remain detached -
from humanity.
Depravity has become our tradition.
Seeking first our own desire, aiming higher and higher
but sinking lower and lower.
Until there's nowhere else to go.

We stop and see that we have destroyed our souls.
Now we want to change.
But it's too late. We're dead.
The Universal Sustainer heard the cry of the dispossessed and the transfer has taken place.
The land is theirs.

Countless denials

How many times did I ignore His voice –
Calling me to follow Him?
How many times did I close my eyes and sleep –
When he wanted to talk?
How many times did I give less than my best –
When that’s all He has given me?
How many times did I disobey –
Bringing shame to His name?

I cannot count but I know it’s many
Each fault has added a brick to the wall of my heart
Driving me from my God – further apart
Not by His will, or by mine
But just a part of humanity
It happens all the time.

When will this wall come down – how will I know?
Rescue me God from this prison of self.

Favourite movie

My favourite movie of all time is “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”. Here are two quotes from the movie.

There’s nothing we can hold onto in this world. Only by letting go can we
finally possess what is real.

Crouching tigers and hidden dragons are in the underworld. But so are
human feelings. Swords and knives harbour unknown perils, but so do human
relationships.